New Zealand have lost three crucial wickets for just 59 runs at the end of first session, Day 2.

Starting the day on the backfoot, the West Indies have changed the course of the match so far in the morning session of Day Two of this ongoing first Test against New Zealand, courtesy their spinners. New Zealand have lost three crucial wickets in the first session of Day Two to end at 299 for the loss of five wickets in 122 overs.

Starting the day in the comfortable position of 240 for the loss of just two wickets, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor made ultra-cautious start to the day’s proceedings. The two West Indian pacers, Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach started off very tightly, giving away hardly any runs up front. They bowled full and just outside the off-stump, making Williamson leave most of the balls, and Taylor a little unsure.

Bot the batsmen could manage just three runs off the first five overs. Taylor then hit out against Roach, scoring two consecutive boundaries. Taylor hitting out resulted in Denesh Ramdin bringing in his spinners into the attack. The introduction of Sulieman Benn and Shane Shillingford suddenly changed the equations.

Both the spinners got considerable amount of purchase from the Day Two pitch straightaway, and made life difficult for the New Zealand batsmen. Kane Williamson tried to hit out to break the shackles, but he misjudged a leave off Benn’s bowling, the ball skidded through to take off his off-stump. Williamson was batting on a 100-plus score, but failed to read that delivery. His wicket led to some sort of redemption for the West Indies in this match.

Soo, Ross Taylor reached his fifty, but he didn’t last long post reaching the mark. He tried to come down the track and loft Shillingford over the mid-wicket region for four, instead handed a simple catch to Kirk Edwards at short mid-wicket. Taylor’s dismissal led to another dismissal; that of their captain Brendon McCullum.

In the very next over, McCullum fell to Sulieman Benn. The ball turned sharply across the face of the bat, as Ramdin scooped the rising edge towards first slip. Chris Gayle did the rest of the formalities. The sudden fall of such important wickets have completely derailed the New Zealand innings. Instead of aiming for 450 plus, they will be now hoping that James Neesham and BJ Watling can consolidate and forge a strong partnership to bail New Zealand out of trouble from here.